Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF

Francisco Villa: The Use and Abuse of
Colonialist Cinema
Francisco “Pancho” Villa, shortly after the taking of
Ojinaga in 1914. Courtesy of the Filmoteca de la
UNAM, Mexico
Dr. Aurelio de los Reyes
UNAM Film Archive
All image is subject to manipulation. This makes it all the more
interesting to study closely the use and abuse of the film image of
Francisco Villa, Pancho Villa, the famous Mexican guerrilla fighter, as
portrayed by the United States during the Mexican Revolution of
1914-1920.
It is well known that at one point the United States thought of
converting Villa into the President of Mexico, mostly
through the good offices of film journalism brought
into use in the United States almost at the same time
as the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in May
19101. It should be noted that between 1911 and
1920 over 80 American cameramen working either
free lance of for various film companies covered the
Mexican Revolution from the viewpoints of the
different groups. Thus, as of March, 1912 the
newscasts Pathe’s Weekly, Animated Weekly and Mutual
Weekly, among others, included weekly bulletins on
the Revolution, not to mention films put on sale by
the companies or by the freelance cameramen
covering the activities in Mexico.
Francisco Villa, of all the revolutionary leaders, showed most insight
into how to manipulate film image to his own advantage, provoking
interest both from his followers in Mexico as well as from the US.
Francisco Villa began to attract the attention of American journalists
after he took Ciudad Juarez, the most important point of entry
between Mexico and the US, at the end of 1913. Interest was
awakened by the fact that he took the town with an army of 10,000
volunteers – not too badly armed or trained – hastily put together in
just a few months. In March of that year his army had amounted to
less than 100 poorly armed, ragged men. The force of his personality
worked the miracle. The journalists, impressed by his innate talent
for leadership, dubbed him the Mexican Napoleon, as well as the
Mexican Robin Hood because of his reputation as a generous bandit.
They were also impressed by his administrative capabilities. As State
Governor, putting into action his “socialist” ideas, in a short time he
achieved a better distribution of income. Numerous journalists and
cameramen congregated in Cd. Juarez at the end of 1913.
According to the historian Friedrich Katz, “Villa (…) was regarded
with genuine sympathy by the administration of (Woodrow) Wilson,
by a section of the armed forces, by the public in general and, finally,
36 Journal of Film Preservation / 63 / 2001